Yes, one can fail students. I have to admit. I have done so. And I was able to stay on and keep my job. But this was because I had so many students in my corner who also had wasta power, students who, when taught properly using techniques that actually work, love to learn and actually--get this--progress. But for me, I was either loved or hated. Nothing in the middle. Be hated by the wrong students in a large enough clan and *poof*--you will be gone. I've seen it. It's all about the family power, which is a version of 'the customer is always right'.

In the place where I work, students can fail and are allowed to repeat the semester once. If they fail again, they have to leave the college.

A failure rate of 10 % of students in each class is the tolerated norm.

A great many of students are absent for close to 15 % of the time, which is deemed acceptable by administration.

However, missing that much class time means that they missed a great deal of instructions and are at risk of failing. Some students have missed between 20 - 25 % of class time. If they bring a medical certificate/ valid excuse, they are still allowed to sit the exams.

Even the best teacher can not teach a student if the student is not in class.

It also depends on who you fail and how much family power they have. Daddy who knows nothing about education can call your boss and have you canned, absolutely. Seen it.

True. Just to prove how absurd this is, in case someone keeps sticking up for the system ("It never happened in 1985! ...)
One student occasionally showed up to class. He ticks next to a name. His 'uncle' stormed into the deans' office, demanding his 'salary' for the student. (Remember, many students and families in the tribal areas see this as a 'salary,' not an education.)

We found out that the student was ticking and answering next to a name that wasn't his. His name was never on the attendance, thus he never got "paid."

Who got in trouble? The teacher from India, not the co-teacher from a "western" country. And, definitely, absolutely, not the student.

I once had a conversation with an Omani teacher working in one of the colleges. She said that every non-classroom contact with students was reported to the HoD because students ran to the Administration all the time.

However, I think we both can agree that Oman's "colleges" are best viewed as a springboard for something better. Every year, these topics come up and haunt people with experience.

So, they have always been... and I have been saying exactly that since theses recruiter hired jobs appeared. It is a shame that Oman is planning to enforce rules that will try to force teachers to stay with the shadiest of that gang. The sad truth is that the worst of these recruiters are invariably the ones with the most wasta. If not, they would have been fired long ago.

Just as on the thread where the discussion of how to pass all those hours that they make you sit around, time at these employers can be used to advance one's own agenda. Get a couple years experience teaching Arabic speakers that will look good on the CV. Work on another degree... hone one's classroom management skills... try out different approaches... and be sure to keep a diary for that retirement novel.

'Right, so the visa confusions are nearly all resolved, here's the summary:

1. You have until June 1st to get a NOC from your current employer (if you are changing jobs) - On June 1st, your visa won't be transferable with a NOC. Which means not a lot for you, but for employers it means that your visa is then cancelled, and another one in it's place (to replace you from the job you are leaving) will not be easily obtained.

2. You have until July 1st to get your new Visa issued in your passport. Unless you are renewing your visa in your current job. So, if you left Oman on September 15th, 2012, and wanted to come back to work in Oman, you would not be able to get your visa until September 15th, 2014 - 2 years later. If you are already here and are changing jobs without a NOC (still possible until July 1st) you better get moving.

3. From June 1st, any employer issuing a NOC to an employee wishing to change jobs, will do so at their own peril - it's not automatic that a new clearance would be issued.

Which means, that it is all very well and good to say that employees in good standing can change their jobs (whether they have worked their Contracts to completion or have a NOC) except that no employer in their right mind will issue a NOC because this will then directly impact them on how they conduct their business.

However, I think we both can agree that Oman's "colleges" are best viewed as a springboard for something better. Every year, these topics come up and haunt people with experience.

Yes, there is definitely a dark side to having Middle East experience in TESOL. And there is an even darker side to the dark side...the high salaries bring entrenchment, teachers doing whatever it takes to keep their jobs, as if keeping those jobs were a kind of life-or-death last stand.

So, they have always been... and I have been saying exactly that since theses recruiter hired jobs appeared. It is a shame that Oman is planning to enforce rules that will try to force teachers to stay with the shadiest of that gang. The sad truth is that the worst of these recruiters are invariably the ones with the most wasta. If not, they would have been fired long ago.

The recruiting agencies need to be shut down. Have needed to be shut down since forever.